What Display Daily thinks: The good thing about streaming and TV operating systems is that you don’t have to worry about legacy applications or future-proofing your system. You just need to make sure that you get app updates from the major players, and that you have a large enough viewer base to satisfy your partners, be they media companies or advertisers.
Who knows how this turns out. The Trade Desk has legs in the advertising industry and probably has as good a chance to succeed as any other new entrant into the TV OS business. The vision is sound, but not novel. Roku, Samsung, LG, Google… they all have the same vision, with a one or two pieces of the puzzle missing.
The real value in knowing this information is recognizing the dynamics of TV delivery are changing. Interestingly enough, none of these companies really have an approach for premium TVs. Just having the same interface appear bigger as screen sizes grow seems like a missed opportunity.
TTD Announces New TV OS Called Ventura
The Trade Desk (TTD) has made a significant move in the streaming television landscape with its announcement of Ventura, a new streaming TV operating system, a strategic expansion of TTD’s role in the digital advertising space, moving from its traditional position as an advertising technology provider to becoming a fundamental infrastructure player in the streaming TV ecosystem.
At its core, Ventura is designed to address several critical challenges in the current streaming marketplace, according to TTD. The system promises to deliver a more intuitive and engaging user experience, featuring advanced content discovery across platforms, personalized recommendations, and streamlined subscription management. Perhaps most significantly for consumers, it aims to reduce ad frequency while increasing ad relevance, addressing one of the most common complaints about streaming services.
From an advertising perspective, Ventura’s most notable innovation lies in its optimization of the advertising supply chain. The platform intends to minimize the number of intermediaries between advertisers and publishers, a change that could significantly improve return on investment for advertisers while maximizing revenue for content publishers. The integration of advanced technologies such as OpenPath and Unified ID 2.0 suggests a sophisticated approach to audience targeting and impression pricing across streaming platforms.
The timing of this announcement appears carefully calculated. The streaming industry has reached a critical inflection point, with streaming viewership now exceeding traditional cable TV consumption. Additionally, the proliferation of ad-supported streaming options from major media companies has created a complex ecosystem that could benefit from standardization and optimization. TTD’s position as a content-neutral party appears to be a key strategic advantage, with CEO Jeff Green emphasizing the company’s objective stance as a facilitator rather than a content owner.
Industry support for Ventura appears robust, with endorsements from major players across the media landscape. Disney Advertising, through SVP Jamie Power, has acknowledged the emergence of a new paradigm in TV advertising, while Paramount Advertising’s President John Halley praised TTD’s innovative approach to programmatic advertising. Tubi Media Group’s CEO Paul Cheesbrough emphasized the importance of precise audience targeting in the evolving streaming landscape. Perhaps most intriguingly, Sonos’s involvement suggests potential integration with premium audio equipment, hinting at Ventura’s ambitions beyond traditional smart TV implementations.
The deployment timeline, set for 2025, reflects the ambitious scope of this project. TTD envisions Ventura being adopted not only by smart TV manufacturers but also by a diverse range of streaming aggregators, including airlines and hotel chains. This broad target market suggests TTD sees an opportunity to standardize the streaming experience across multiple contexts and environments.
While the announcement is overwhelmingly positive, several implicit challenges and risks warrant consideration. The success of Ventura will largely depend on its adoption rate among manufacturers and aggregators, many of whom may have existing relationships with other operating system providers. Integration challenges with existing systems and potential resistance from current market leaders could also impact the platform’s rollout.
The financial implications of this move are significant. By positioning itself at the operating system level, TTD could potentially capture more value from the streaming advertising ecosystem while creating efficiencies that benefit both advertisers and publishers. The emphasis on supply chain optimization suggests a focus on reducing costs and improving transparency, which could help justify the investment required for partners to adopt the platform.
